Thousands each year head to Turkey for a hair transplant

Losing your hair, especially for men, is a fact of life. It is incredibly common and even for those who aren’t happy with it have until relatively recently simply had to put up with it.

There are hundreds of products on the market all geared towards prevention or reversal of hair loss, but very rarely do they offer a permanent solution to the problem. At best you may delay a growing bald patch slightly, but not for long. And they certainly can’t reverse the damage already done.

Yet there is a permanent solution, ahair transplant. And perhaps surprisingly, the best place to go for treatment is the rising star in this field, Turkey.

Step one when you notice hair loss: find out why it is happening

The most important thing to do first is to get to the bottom of what is causing your hair loss. There are many things that do it. Sometimes it may be bacterial or resulting from disease. It can also be a reaction to a foreign substance or medication. It can also be a result of stress or a trauma, either emotionally or physically. The most common reason is genetics.

It is very important to see your doctor to find out exactly why it is happening, and importantly if it going to be permanent. You will not need to look at a surgical option if it is perfectly treatable medically.

Once you know the cause, if it does turn out to be permanent, then you need to allow it to settle down. This can take a couple of years if you are in your early twenties. However, it is important to allow this time to see how far it will develop.

Then, if you have your heart set on regaining your full head of hair, you should start to look for a clinic.

What to look when choosing a hair transplant clinic

It is important to choose a quality clinic where you can be sure of the highest standards. Do your research and make sure that the clinic you are using maintains the highest standards. Also check that it has the right independent accreditations for service and standards and that the hospitals where the procedures are carried out have the best facilities and access to other services – for example, emergency care.

There is nothing more important than your health, make sure you know what is available. You also want to look for the best surgeons, using the latest techniques for the best results. This is another reason why Turkey is so popular for hair transplant tourists. As the world center of excellence for this procedure, expert surgeons are flocking to Turkey to be at the front of the new developments.

You will also want to consider your budget. One of the amazing things about Turkey is it can be up to 80% cheaper than other countries. It is possible to get a hair transplant for around 2500 euros.

It would be natural to wonder if this means a poorer service. Yet choose a quality clinic and you will actually get a better service, with the added extras of a personal chauffeur, a translator to look after you and a stay in a 5-star hotel thrown in with the price.

Turkey is simply a cheaper place to run a clinic. Added to that the local currency, Turkish Lira, is not very strong against sterling, the euro or the US dollar. And competition between clinics- particularly in Istanbul – is pretty fierce. But do your research, choose a well-renowned clinic for your treatment.

What to expect from the treatment

The concept is quite simple, even if the execution requires an expert surgeon. Essentially Doctor and patient agree together which area is to be the donor site. This area is shaved down to a couple of millimeters and prepped for transplantation.

Follicular units, containing between 1 to 5 hairs each, are extracted from the donor site and implanted in the area with hair loss. This is repeated thousands of times, yet the patient will feel nothing.

The operation is largely considered not truly surgical. It is mostly bloodless and carried out under local anesthetic. You will be allowed to leave the same day, and after a few days return home. Some clinics even have agreements with clinics in the UK for a final follow up at a later date.

Between the price, the service provided and the quality of the results it is easy to see why so many men and women are undergoing the procedure.